On Tuesday my wife and I went on the Kona Coffee Council Farm and Mill Tour in which we visited two Kona Coffee Farms. We visited the Holualoa Kona Coffee Company and a smaller farm, Kona Earth, owned by Gary Strawn. The tour guide was George Fike of Fike Farms, but our "back of the bus" tour guide was Bob Nelson, owner of Lehuula Farms.
The tour was educational and lots of fun, but the real exciting news came on Wednesday when both Kona Earth and Lehuula Farms were named among the 16 finalists in the Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition!
The Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition and the Gevalia Crown Competition are blind tastings of Kona’s finest coffee. Entries are assigned a random number to assure anonymity. To keep the judges’ palates alert between Wednesday’s preliminary and Thursday’s final round, these numbers are changed as the entries progress in the competition. Judges are looking for high marks in fragrance, aroma, taste, nose, aftertaste and body.
"2008 is a good year and we are finding more above average Kona coffee than normal and four to five truly standout in the preliminary round and hopefully, one will shine above the others tomorrow," commented John King, Harold L. King & Co., judge.
The following 16 Kona coffee farms were selected to advance from the 56 entries in Wednesday’s preliminary round. The public is invited to witness the final round of the coveted Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition on Thursday.
Big Toki Farm Brocksen Gate Estate
Buddha’s Cup Estate
Golden Turtle
Hoshide Farms
Imagine 100% Kona
J. Yokoyama McDonald
Kaloko Bayou
Kona Earth
Kona Rain Forest Coffee
Kuaiwi Farm, Kona Old Style
Lehuula Farms
Mauka Fire Coffee
Moki’s Farm
Sea View Estate
Wolf Farms
The following three larger Kona coffee farms advance to Thursday's final from 12 entries in the Gevalia Crown Competition.
Aloha Hills Kona Coffee, LLC
Kona Kulana Farms
Kowali Farm
The Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition is a signature event of the 38th Annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
We'll be pulling for both Gary and Bob to take home this year's top prize.
You can find out more about their farms and order some of their great 100% Kona Coffee using the following links:
Kona Earth
Lehuula Farms
Photos: Top - Kona Earth owner Gary Strawn Bottom - Lehuula Farms owner Bob Nelson
Comments
No comments yet. Leave a Comment